


wake

by triforced



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, With a side of angst, brothers being brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 22:16:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14506635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triforced/pseuds/triforced
Summary: Thor feels as if he hasn't slept in a thousand years.





	wake

He looks up, raises a hand to shield his eyes.

The sun is bright, brighter than any sun he recalls, and he recalls many.

He doesn't know where he is, cannot even begin to guess. A dream, perhaps, strange and malleable, as all dreams are - the mind is free to do what it wishes when sleep comes upon it.

Thor feels as if he hasn't slept in a thousand years.

The grass around him rustles, disturbed by something more substantial than a light breeze. Footsteps. He averts his gaze from the sun, blinks the spots out of his eyes, squints.

"I told you, did I not?" Loki says, striding lazily toward him, hands tucked in his pockets. He motions at the (very bright) sun with a jerk of his chin. "It's shining."

Is this what it's like, Thor wonders, to have the air stolen from your lungs? Is this a fraction of what Loki suffered, what he _chose_ to suffer while Thor was powerless, unable to do anything but watch? His tongue is heavy in his mouth; it is difficult to swallow. His eyes prickle, they burn, both of them, real and prosthetic. "So it is," he says, his voice unrecognizable and cracked. "You - " Loki has since stepped closer, is within arm's reach, now, his hands out of his pockets. "You really are the worst brother."

Loki smiles, a gentle smile, a genuine smile....a childhood smile. He steps closer still. "I know." And he opens his arms. Thor's body moves on its own. He cleaves tight, presses his forehead against his brother's shoulder, feels Loki _breathe_ , his grip just as strong as Thor's is. He cannot say how long they stand there in a silence marred only by Thor's shuddering breaths until Loki decides to break it. "You look much less charming without the eye patch, by the way."

And Thor _laughs_. He draws back, eyes red-rimmed, hands holding fast to Loki's upper arms, not willing to release him yet. "You're mistaken, brother. I always look charming."

Loki rolls his eyes, though the corner of his mouth quirks. "I can think of more than a few occasions where - "

"Three times, Loki," Thor says quietly, and his brother closes his mouth. "Three times, I have mourned you. I will not survive a fourth."

Silence falls upon them again, the gravity of the words a chasm between them. Sons of Odin they may be, but there is a limit to how much loss one can bear, and Thor has nearly reached his.

Yet the sun still shines, brightly.

"I wonder if you'll say the same, centuries from now, when you're still stuck with me."

These words too have weight, and history, and pain behind them. It is written on Loki's face, mirrored back on Thor's own. He releases his brother, slings an arm around his shoulders instead.

"I'll say a great many things, and you will listen to them all, as _you_ are stuck with _me_."

He feels light, buoyant, and the sun still shines.

If this is a dream, then it is a good one. He is in no hurry to wake.

**Author's Note:**

> YEAH SO. Allow me to join the ranks of the 'INFINITY WAR FUCKED ME UP' club. I needed to get this out, while it was still kicking around in my head. I've never written for the Marvel universe before, so hopefully I didn't make a mess of it. 
> 
> You can find me @ashooree on tumblr. :)


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